I know you’ve seen ’em . . . in the bathroom at night, looking into the mirror and you notice the reflection looking back at you doesn’t seem right . . . there’s something off about that face, it’s staring at you . . . and the eyes aren’t your eyes, they’re the eyes of…
People often describe creative thinking in the form of metaphors. We talk about "thinking outside the box," "putting two and two together," and "seeing both sides of the problem." But what if we could boost our creativity by taking these metaphors literally? We know our minds interact in all sorts of interesting ways with our…
My favorite steampunk band, Abney Park, returns to their Steampunk Studio to film the music video for the song Evil Man. This is from the Off the Grid album which is currently what I listen to while driving to and from the university. This song is particularly fun. Enjoy. – Brian
Uhm, I’m a fan of the ol’ Schrodinger’s Cat thought experiment, more so than probably the next guy . . . but . . . the folks taking it to the next level as an experiment that violently proves or disproves the existence of the multiverse are missing a few marbles on this thing. The…
Want to increase you influence? Throw in some social proof into the mix and watch your social influence mojo go up. In this brief lecture excerpt, Dr. Gino Dante Borges highlights how social proof plays a role in social influence/persuasion. This is from a speech Borges presented to executive mba students at St. Mary’s University.…
So, the story has begun circulating again out there in interwebs land . . . sometimes with the names and locations sometimes as an anonymous tale . . . but while it reads like any other semi-inspirational thingie, this story has a difference, it’s actually true and not just manufactured to fit someone’s philosophical agenda.…
What do you get when you take some of the absolutely worst dialogue delivery in video game history and combine it with someone with a penchant for facial expressiveness? You get some pretty awesome FACE ACTING, that’s what! As the folks at geektyrant note: “Be it shoddy translation, poor delivery, bad writing, or just annoying…
Craig Zobel, director of the new film Compliance, was heckled after the screening of the film at Sundance as some folks found the portrayal of a young woman being sexually abused too powerfully misogynist and what some viewers found to be so extreme as to be unbelievable. However, Zobel’s story of a woman sexually abused…
Mark Earls (Consultant with HERD Consulting) moderates and is joined by Domenico Vitale (Chief Archetect with People Ideas and Consulting) and John Kearon (Chief Juicer and Founder of BrainJuicer) to discuss how Social Influence Trumps Individual Choice. Despite the noise around Facebook and Social Media, many of us have yet to get to grips with…
Borrowed from tooprettyforprison because it’s awesome. By the way, if you’re a feline lover but not yet a member of the Cat Restaurants (aka, 貓餐廳) group at http://www.facebook.com/catcafes on Facebook you really should join. Not sure whatever in the world a Cat Restaurants (貓餐廳) might be, well check it out and see for yourself. All…
Brian David Phillips, hypnotist and professor and acting coach, demonstrates a Trance-Acting technique, the adaptation of hypnosis and trancework techniques to the development of the actor. This presentation was part of a a very special actors trancework session for students at Kishore Namit Kapoor’s Acting Institute, one of the most highly respected actor training institutes…
Brian David Phillips, hypnotist and professor and acting coach, lectures on Trance-Acting, the adaptation of hypnosis and trancework techniques to the development of the actor. This presentation was part of a a very special actors trancework session for students at Kishore Namit Kapoor’s Acting Institute, one of the most highly respected actor training institutes in…
Michael D. Baker presents a lecture over social influence tactics that appeal to our motives to honor commitments and to act in a manner that is consistent with our earlier actions. The foot-in-the-door, low-ball, and bait-and-switch techniques are discussed as well as the work of Robert Cialdini. Social Influence Part One Social Influence Part Two…
The folks at Punchdrunk (http://www.punchdrunk.org.uk/) have created an intriguing thrillride of an interactive drama production in Sleep No More (http://sleepnomorenyc.com/) which the very good folks at io9 have called LARP plus Shakespeare plus Absinthe plus Orgy Masks with a very strong reccommendation for folks to give it a go. Their full review can be found…
As regular readers here know, one of the standard Laws of Influence is the Law of Power and the effects of that principle of influence can be accessed through the wearing of a uniform. In this video, we see a couple university students attempting to re-create components of the Stanford Experiment through the use of…
RM had his first out-of-body experience at the age of 16. Now, at the age of 55, he has had more than he can count. They usually happen just before he falls asleep; for ten minutes, he feels like he is floating above his body, looking down on himself. If the same thing happens when…
Let’s see . . . if you’re creating a youth-centered advertising campaign that ties into young people’s values and beliefs and encourages them to express themselves and be creative, what are some of the things you think one might put into such a commercial? Stop expressing your controversial political views via legal assembly and protesting?…
Conflict Photography to seek and create drama even when the situation lacks it Here’s a fascinating video in which Italian photographer Ruben Salvadori demonstrates how dishonest many conflict photographs are. Salvadori spent a significant amount of time in East Jerusalem, studying the role photojournalists play in what the world sees. By turning his camera on…
It was a bit of a special episode of Craig Ferguson‘s Late Late Show (pretty much the only late night program I watch) as his cold open featured my absolutely favorite song from the Rocky Horror Show and then later special musical guest Amanda Palmer performed a rendition of another Rocky Horror piece with her…
Mass hysteria is a very real thing and every once in awhile it rears its ugly head in the form of a group of young people exhibiting odd or unusual behavior. Sometimes this relates to seeing things or feeling the symptoms of illnesses or the like. Not long ago, there were a number of cases…
This is the opposite of not awesome. When David Tennant left Doctor Who, the cast and crew made a music video of “(I’m Gonna Be) 500 Miles” by The Proclaimers for the wrap party. Footage of Tennant hanging with the band surfaced a while back. Here’s the music video: Okay, now THAT was fun! Here’s…
How about a song that explains Quantum Physics? Okay . . . didn’t know there was one, yes, there is. This is a musical investigation into the nature of atoms and subatomic particles, the jiggly things that make up everything we see. Featuring Morgan Freeman, Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku, Brian Cox, Richard Feynman, and Frank…
On a super secret email discussion list I belong to consisting of influence experts in Asia who specialize in influence and psychological forces used within communication skills specifically for relationships and particularly seduction . . .a post came up recently on how many Chinese girls in relationships employ a strategy of feigning girlishness and treating…
For Samhain, here’s a debate on the terrifying psychology lessons to be gained from famous movie monsters. 4 Terrifying Psychology Lessons Behind Famous Movie Monsters — powered by Cracked.com Happy Halloween! All the best, Brian
One of my absolutely favorite films is Big Trouble in Little China, a bit of fantasy cross-cultural weirdness that starred Kurt Russell way back when. Sure, I know that by today’s standards it’s a bit on the culturally insensitive side and that despite any dreams one might have from one’s youth “Chinese girls don’t come…
